Chinese President Xi to visit Saudi, Iran in new diplomacy push

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping will make an unusual visit next week to Saudi Arabia and Iran, who were locked in a bitter dispute, in what could be a bid by Beijing to act as an "honest broker" as it seeks a greater regional diplomatic role.

While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tended to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, France and Russia.

But China was trying to get more involved, especially in Syria, recently hosting both its foreign minister and opposition officials.

In a brief statement, China's Foreign Ministry said Xi would visit Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt on his Jan. 19-23 visit. It provided no other details.